Born in 1965 in Gothenburg, Sweden
Lives and works in Stockholm, Sweden
Working at the intersection of the early-twentieth-century practice of collage and the ancient art of shadow play, Jens Fänge has developed a surrealistic matryoshka-like aesthetics that consists of assembling paintings within paintings. A master of eclecticism, he incorporates—so it seems—an entire hierarchy of genres into his composite works, juxtaposing iconic portraits, still lifes, domestic interiors, cityscapes, and landscapes with geometric abstractions, all of which he renders using a variety of media and materials, including oil paint, pencil, vinyl, cardboard, and fabric on panel. The contoured, often cut-out protagonists of the artist’s refined pictorial plays appear to be drifting into these overlapping stage-like layers of representations, giving rise to an intricate, seemingly endless maze of shifting perspectives, not only within each composition but also within each series as a whole.
education
1989–1994
- The Valand Academy of Fine Arts, Gothenburg, Sweden
1987–1989
- Hovedskous School of Painting, Gothenburg, Sweden
solo shows
2019
- Alcove, Galerie Perrotin, New York, USA
2018
- Drömmarna, Bonniers Konsthall, Stockholm, Sweden
2017
- Sister Feelings, Galerie Perrotin, Hong Kong
2016
- The Hours Before, Galerie Perrotin, Paris
2014
- Jens Fänge, Arnstedt Östra Karup, Båstad, Sweden
2013
- Das Schauspeil, ABC Station Berlin, Germany
- Förvandlingsrummet / Room of Transformation, Galleri Magnus Karlsson, Stockholm, Sweden
2012
- Historia de la noche, Eskilstuna Konstmuseum, Sweden
- Diplopia (two-person exhibition with Carl Hammoud), Baton Gallery, Seoul, Korea
2010
- Saltarvet, Fiskebäckskil, Sweden
2009
- En lång ljus vecka, Galleri Erik Steen, Oslo, Norway
- Blänk och strålar/Gleams and Beams,Galleri Magnus Karlsson, Stockholm, Sweden
2008
- Kristianstad Konsthall, Kristianstad, Sweden
2007
- Thordén Wetterling Galleri, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Arnstedt & Kullgren Galleri, Östra Karup, Sweden
2006
- Maison du Peuple, Galleri Magnus Karlsson, Stockholm, Sweden
2005
- Östersunds Konstförening, Ahlbergshallen, Östersund, Sweden
2003
- Arnstedt Kullgren Galleri, Östra Karup, Sweden
2002
- Flat, Baroque and Berserk, Schaper Sundberg Galleri, Stockholm, Sweden
2001
- Galleri Wang, Oslo, Norway
- Galleri Wallner, Malmö, Sweden
1999
- Stalke, Köpenhamn, Denmark
1998
- Schaper Sundberg Galleri, Stockholm, Sweden
- Good Life Project, The BBQ Series, New York, USA
1996
- Gothenburg Museum of Art, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Schaper Sundberg Galleri, Stockholm, Sweden
1995
- Lindblad Thordén Galleri, Gothenburg, Sweden
group shows
2017
- Valand Revisited, Strandverket, Marstrand, Sweden
- Les imaginaires d’un monde in-tranquille, Abbaye Saint-André / Centre d’art contemporain Meymac, France
2016
- XVI Vilnius Painting Triennial, Vilnius, Poland
2014
- Här/Nu, Artipelag, Stockholm, Sweden
- Blueprint, Great Hall, MOCA-Tucson, USA
- Samlarens blick – konst ur samtida samlingar, Konsthallen–Bohusläns museum, Uddevalla, Sweden
2013
- Syner på ögats baksida, Karlskrona Konsthall, Sweden
- Time Waits for Us, Galleri Magnus Karlsson, Stockholm, Sweden
2012
- Sturehof, (two-person exhibition with Klara Kristalova), Stockholm, Sweden
- Konst är Dyrbarare än Korv, Varbergs Konsthall, Sweden
- Supersurrealismen, Moderna Museet Malmö, Malmö, Sweden
2011
- Stena 15, Gothenburg Museum of Art, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Galleri Örsta, Kumla, Sweden
- Välkommen tillbaka! Saltarvet 10 år, Fiskebäckskil, Sweden
- Pudelns Hjärna, Hellvi Kännungs, Galleri Magnus Karlsson, Gotland, Sweden
2010
- Today is Yesterday Tomorrow, Galleri Magnus Karlsson, Stockholm, Sweden
- Modernautställningen, Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Thrice Upon a Time, Magasin 3 Stockholm Konsthall, Stockholm, Sweden
2009
- Märta Måås-Fjetterström, Liljevalchs Konsthall, Stockholm, Sweden
- Samtidigt, Borås Konstmuseum, Borås, Sweden
- Önskekonst, Länsmuseet Gävleborg, Gävle, Sweden
2008
- Carnegie Art Award 2008, ARKEN Museum of Contemporary Art, Ishoj, Danmark, Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo, Victoria Miro Gallery, London, Konstakademin, Stockholm, Kunsthalle Helsinki
2007
- Painting, Space and Society, Konsthallen Göteborg, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Forest assembly, GAD Oslo, Norway
2006
- Abstract Athletics – New positions in Painting, Kusthallen Braderigården, Viborg Denmark
- Spiralhuset, Tensta Konsthall, Sweden
2005
- Erase and Rewind, Bukowskis, Stockholm, Sweden
- Arnstedt Kullgren Galleri, Östra Karup, Sweden
2004
- This sweet sickness, Rhodes+Mann Gallery, London, United Kingdom
- Natural Born Painters, Bomuldsfabriken, Arendal, Norway
- Carnegie Art Award, Victoria Miro Warehouse, London, United Kingdom
2003
- Carnegie Art Award, Konstakademin Stockholm, Kópavogur Art Museum, Island, Kunstnerernas Hus, Oslo, Kunsthalle Helsinki, Finland
- Contemporary Art from Sweden, ECB, Frankfurt, Germany
- Nostalgic Real, Müller De Chiara Galerie, Berlin, Germany
- Latterens uttryck, Museum of Contemporary Art, Oslo, Norway
2002
- En samling samtida, Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Necessary Fictions, De Chiara Gallery, New York, USA
2001
- Carnegie Art Award, ARKEN Museum of Contemporary Art, Ishoj, Danmark, Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo, Victoria Miro Gallery, London, Konstakademin, Stockholm, Kunsthalle Helsinki
- Markers, Outdoor Banner Event at 49th Venice Biennale, Italy
2000
- Construction in Process VII, International Artists Museum, Bydgoszcz, Poland
1999
- Free Coke, Green Naftali Gallery, New York, USA
- Jack Hanley Gallery, San Francisco, USA
1998
- Message to Pretty, Thread Waxing Space, New York, USA
- PULSE Painting Now, RARE, New York, USA
- Under Construction, Gen Art, New York, USA
- From Here, High St. Project, Christchurch, New Zeeland
public collections
- Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Sweden Museet for Samtidskunst, Oslo, Norway
- Gothenburg Museum of Art, Sweden Skövde Konstmuseum, Göteborg, Sweden
- Borås Konstmuseum, Borås, Sweden
- Dunkers Kulturhus, Helsingborg, Sweden
- Magasin III Konsthall, Stockholm, Sweden
